Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls

As a therapist, Mary Pipher was getting more irritated with the issues that teenage females were starting to face. Why, initially, were so many of them resorting to therapy? Why had these beautiful, bright human beings become victims of eating disorders, despair, attempted suicide, and cripplingly low self-esteem? The response triggered strong emotions in Pipher, the girls' parents, and themselves. Crashing and burning in a "developmental Bermuda Triangle," kids were growing up in a society dominated by media, obsessed with dehumanizing sex imagery and unattainable beauty standards, a society full of addictions and STDs. They were becoming less resilient and hopeful in a society that promoted ideals that were incompatible with those required for survival, a culture known as "girl poisoning."

Reviving Ophelia is a call to arms because it is told in the courageous, fearless, and honest voices of the girls themselves as they emerge from the chaos of adolescence. It offers crucial strategies, empathy, and strength and pushes for change so that young hearts can once again flourish and rediscover and reengage their sense of self.